


A Change of Energy

by Madamrebecca



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: 1970s, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Death Eaters, Depression, Divination, Drinking, Drug Use, F/F, F/M, Family Drama, First War with Voldemort, Fix-It of Sorts, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Good Regulus Black, Hogwarts Fifth Year, Hufflepuff & Slytherin Inter-House Friendships, Hufflepuff/Slytherin Inter-House Relationships, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Kind of Soulmates?, LGBTQ Characters, Lots of it, M/M, Muggle/Wizard Relations, Mutual Pining, OC's a stoner hufflepuff btw, Oblivious Pining, Partying, Pre wolfstar, Regulus Black Deserves Better, Self-Discovery, Slow Burn, Swearing, Underage Drinking, Underage Smoking, all of the characters are dumbass teenagers, but the kids are CONFUSED and NAIVE, he has lots of doubts, lots of people getting together!, some dark aspects to the story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-25
Updated: 2020-03-05
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:27:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22901686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Madamrebecca/pseuds/Madamrebecca
Summary: A bunch of stupid and confused teenage witch and wizards trying to figure out their feelings and their place in a changing world.
Relationships: Regulus Black & Original Character(s), Regulus Black & Sirius Black, Regulus Black/Original Female Character(s), Sirius Black & Remus Lupin & Peter Pettigrew & James Potter & Lily Evans Potter
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	1. Chapter 1

September 1st, 1976

"Okay, Vickie. Be _good_ this year and stay safe," said a beautiful, blonde woman with wide, green eyes to her daughter, "and the same goes for you Dox. Stay out of trouble!"

"Y'all better be good this year and listen to your mother," said a tall, and handsome black man with a thick southern accent. He wore some hideous, thick glasses that his daughter swore he did it out of spite.

"Yes, mum—and dad. I will," Dox said, rolling his eyes and walked towards the Hogwarts Express.

"You know I'll be on my best behavior. I'm a prefect!" said Vickie Carter who winked at her mother and father before giving a kiss on her mother's pale cheek.

Her mum pulled Vickie into a tight embrace, "Well then... We will see you during Christmas holiday and make sure to write to us every week. Also _please_ , take care of your brother," Doris Carter whispered into her only daughter's ear.

"Merlin Mum, take a chill pill," Vickie laughed shakily. She saw her mother starting to cry, which made Vickie about to cry too like a first year, not wanting to leave her Mummy. But Vickie pulled out of the hug then straightened out her robes and her black and yellow prefect badge before she turned into a sobbing mess. "Now I need to go on the train Mum. Peace and love!"

"Sending positive energy to you like always! Love you!"

Vickie ran through the clouds of steam and through all the other parents saying goodbye to their children before boarding the Hogwarts Express until she found the head of perfectly combed, curly, sandy hair, dressed in Hufflepuff robes—her best friend Tommy Macmillan. He had grown a lot over the summer, almost a head taller than her (which is considered short), his shoulders had broadened immensely and definitely had gained some muscle... she had to admit he looked very handsome.

"Tommy! Be a gentleman and help me put my trunk away for me!" she yelled obnoxiously, greeting him with a tight hug and a peck on the cheek. They had only seen each other once over the summer and had trouble keeping up with writing back to him. She had had withdrawals without Tommy. It seemed like she couldn't function properly without him.

"Shut up. I know you can put it away by yourself," Tommy said, managing to squirm himself out of her grasp and hauled his own trunk into the compartment with ease, but he was still equally excited to see her too.

"Fine whatever. It's just... just... _so heavy_ ," she whined, pretending to have trouble putting her trunk away and gasping for air.

"Okay, okay I'll help! Just stop whining."

"Why thank you, Tommy," she said with a curtsey, then looked at her watch. "Damn, we should really head up to the prefect's compartment. We'll be late."

He rolled his eyes, "I was waiting for you—like always."

"Really? Never knew. Now let's go."

Vickie was practically pushed through the train by Tommy, making sure she didn't start a conversation with everyone she said hello to. They finally made it to the prefect's compartment, but of course, being the last ones to arrive and five minutes late into the lecture.

"Shit, we're late," she murmured to Tommy, all the while smiling, showing her perfect white teeth, and greeting her fellow prefects. They slid into a bench next to the 6th year Gryffindor prefects, Lily Evans and Remus Lupin.

"Hey what's crackin'?" she whispered to Lily, who was staring intently at the Head Boy and Girl. She even had a little notebook in her lap and pencil in hand.

"What's crackin' is that you're late. Not a good impression for the first day on the job," she whispered back, not making eye contact with Vickie—only a sheet of dark red hair facing her.

"Whatever." Sometimes Lily could get on her nerves a bit with how serious she could be in situations, but she loved Lily because she can be wild at times too.

"I'll tell you guys after," said Remus Lupin, one of her dear friends, who had much more mischievousness in him than Lily. That was the best part of Remus, his perfect record as a model student, but he was the mastermind behind all the troublemaking within the halls of Hogwarts. Although it seemed like he was the only one smart enough to get out detentions out of all his friends.

After the hour-long presentation given to the prefects by Head Boy, Frank Longbottom and Head Girl, Lucinda Talkalot, and some additional questions she needed answering after, she could finally go back to her compartment and maybe meet some incoming first years. She came upon a very tall guy, with black, slightly curly hair that fell down onto his forehead, and perfectly pressed robes. He was talking to two little first years at the door of the compartment. Vickie didn't recognize him at first until she saw those dark, bushy brows and an annoyingly posh accent, sounding like the damn Queen of England.

"Regulus Black is that you?!" Vickie said a little too loudly, startling the two first years.

"Oh Merlin..." he grumbled and put on a smirk, "Yes, who else did you think I am?" he said, looking back and seeing Vickie's charming smile.

Regulus Black's aura gave Vickie weird tingles down her spine. Not the creepy ones, like the one she would get from her cousin Avery or Mulciber or Snape, but it was something similar to someone she had a strong connection to such as Tommy, Remus, or even her mother. His energy had changed over the summer because his aura had always been neutral, bordering on cold with how arrogant and quiet he could be, but now—all she felt was warmth. It was like he needed a protector and even feeling a sense of protection from him, even though he did not understand at all. It felt good — that was the only way she could feel about it at the moment. It was a rare connection to have for someone and it took her by great surprise, and kind of made her a bit nervous too. But she quickly brushed that feeling off because it's Regulus Black! Why was she feeling this way for him of all people! But, it was a nice change... a _very_ nice change and she wouldn't mind being around him more, instead of avoiding him as much as possible, as she did previous years.

"I mean, you've grown at least a foot and lost all your baby fat during the summer! Not looking too bad," she smirked and winked at him, before turning to the first two years. She thought being overly confident would help that nervousness from feeling this new energy from him. "Hello, I'm Vickie Abbott Carter, a pleasure to meet you two," she said, shaking the hands of the two first years, "What's your names?"

The little blond girl was the first one to speak up, "I'm Mickey Rasher and this is my new friend Darren Holmes, we're both first years! We were just talking about the sorting. I guess you can say, we are both a bit nervous," she said confidently. Darren gave her a shy wave and quickly turned back to staring out the window.

"Now Regulus, I hope you haven't brainwashed the two into thinking Slytherin is the best," she joked, turning to face him with her arms crossed. 

"Of course not, why would I?"

Mickey straightened in her seat, glaring at Vickie, "He said they had the best common room and the best head of house!"

Vickie frowned slightly. "Well, he's wrong. I have to admit the Ravenclaw common room is the best out of all of them. Pain in the ass to get in but once you're there it's a weird, but a proper good time." Then she turned to Regulus shaking her head and chuckling. "And Regulus, you even know Slughorn isn't the best. Ashamed of you, really."

"He's not _that_ bad, but our common room is amazing. We have a view of under the Black Lake." He turned to the first years and whispered, "We even get to have conversations with the merpeople sometimes. I'll teach you a bit of mermish if you get sorted into Slytherin," and winked. The first two years beamed with curiosity. Vickie would have never imagined him talking tothe _first years_ like this... he was so sweet with them. Maybe this was proof that his energy had changed, and it wasn't her mind playing tricks on her.

Then Darren turned to Vickie, "But you're in Hufflepuff, how do you know what the other common rooms look like?" he said, suddenly interested in the conversation. Vickie laughed.

"Yes. Please tell us — how do you get into the other common rooms?" Regulus asked, burrowing his bushy eyebrows, but teasingly, knowing that she goes to every single party in Hogwarts.

"Oh 'ickle little first years, and Regulus... you will have time to visit the other common rooms. You know what. I'll give you a tip." She leaned closer into the compartment, squeezing past Regulus. "Try to make friends in each house, and you'll be able to meet different kinds of people. Don't just stick to having friends from one house—be sociable. I mean, I can't imagine having all Gryffindor friends, that would be just too much," she chuckled.

"Also a tip for the sorting. Just remember that our houses don't define us. I know I was kind of being hard on Slytherin but I was joking and we all have a bit of each of the houses in us, so don't listen to any of the stereotypes. I mean Regulus, for example, is an ambitious little bastard, like a Slytherin. He can be brash sometimes, like a Gryffindor. I've witnessed him getting into several little duels during quidditch games with James Potter."

"That only happened— two times," he corrected her with a scowl, not liking the name Potter coming up in the conversation. It actually happened four times throughout his quidditch career, but the other two times they hadn't been caught.

Vickie rolled her eyes and continued, "He eats a lot, a stereotype of Hufflepuff. I've caught him plenty of times sneaking off to the kitchens for food," the two first years giggled and Regulus rolled his eyes. It had been, at most, two times. "And I have to admit, he's intelligent," she said with a shrug. "One of the top people in my class and I _always_ see him in the library, a stereotype of Ravenclaw. He has a bit of every house, but he was put into Slytherin. The same goes for me, you and everyone else in Hogwarts." Vickie's cheeks were warm against her bronze skin. Oh god, why was she acting like this!

 _Why had I said all of that? I mean it's true... oh Merlin he must be so confused. It's just his aura man... it's changed_. _Has it really changed that much that I start going on tirades on how amazing he is? Eh, he's not that amazing. I'm way better than him — in some things._

"That was great advice, Vickie," Regulus said politely, ears turning pink, shocked by how nice she was being to him. They were never the type to talk to each other unless they were in class together. And when they were talking, it was mainly bickering or her just going on an annoying tirades to distract him. But it was, he had to admit to himself, nice to hear someone be so positive after being suffocated in darkness all summer.

"Thanks, guys. Now I'm not _as_ nervous anymore," said Mickey smiling, looking up at the two prefects.

"Well, I hope to see you two sorted into Hufflepuff later this evening or any house — I'll be seeing you two, anyway. Now I gotta skitty, or else my friends or going to kill me. Peace!" and she ran off to the back of the train, leaving two less anxious first years and a confused Regulus Black behind.

"Ay! Welcome back to Hogwarts princess!" Evan Rosier, a Slytherin 5th year, shouted out of his compartment. He happened to be Regulus's best mate, and one of the most annoying people at Hogwarts in her humble opinion. Evan Rosier had been the main reason she had never gotten on with Regulus, always instigating each other to pick on others (herself mainly) and his presence just made her tense up with anxiety. But he wasn't as bad as Avery or Mulciber, thank god.

" _Aw_ , bless! Thanks for the welcome!" she shot back sarcastically, giving him a princess wave. Vickie rolled her eyes and turned into her compartment.

"I'M FINALLY FREE!" she yelled into her compartment, where her best friends, Tommy, Mary Macdonald, and Reanne Shacklebolt were sitting. Vickie was honestly not only having withdrawals from Tommy, but she was having withdrawals from all of her friends. She needed them, and especially with what's going on in the changing world and a pretty depressing summer, she needed them most. She greeted everyone in the compartment with a kiss on the cheek and a tight hug.

"What took you so long to get 'ere?" asked her Gryffindor friend Mary Macdonald. Mary was very tan, seeming she spent a lot of her summer spending time with her family in Italy. She had beautiful black wavy hair that went down to her waist and wide-set eyes.

"Oh, I was talking to some first years. Gave them some great pointers, actually." Everyone in the compartment was sniggering.

"Sure you did," said Tommy, "you are literally the worst at giving advice."

"Well, you can ask Regulus Black, because I'm telling the truth," Vickie shot back. She pulled out a small mirror and was trying to fix her bangs that were falling into her eyes... she definitely needed a haircut.

"Oh, yeah... I wasn't able to see him durin' the prefect meetin'. How is 'e?" asked Mary, leaning towards her.

"I don't know. I didn't really ask. But guess what... he's not baby Regulus anymore. First off, he lost _all_ of his baby fat, is like 6 foot something now, and I can kind of see he'd been working out over the summer," Vickie sang with her eyebrows raised, snapping her mirror closed. She wasn't going to tell them about his change of energy yet, because she, herself, was still trying to come to terms with it. "Although, he still has those bushy eyebrows. I just want to jump on him and tweeze them for him," she added, burrowing _her_ perfectly groomed eyebrows.

" _Uggh_ , it seems like everyone's copping 'ot over the summer and I still look the bleedin' same since third year," Mary said irritated.

"No, you don't Mary! You were the first ones out of all of us to get fit. And you are stunning, don't kid yourself," Vickie said, picking at her Pumpkin Pastry, that Tommy had handed to her.

"Thanks," Mary said with a smile. She had always loved it when Vickie would give her compliments because she knew that they were always genuine. "You look right good too. What size are you now, love? Double D, then, eh?" she laughed loudly.

"Sadly yes, and they are very annoying. If they keep getting bigger, I think I'm going to a reducio on them," chuckled Vickie who was now pouting at her boobs, and grabbing them.

"Can we stop talking about boobs, please? I'm trying to read here," Tommy said, looking up at his friends.

"And Reanne, you look beautiful as always. Maybe this is the year that Remus will say yes," said Vickie, who turned towards Reanne Shacklebolt. She was a tall and slender dark-skinned girl with cheekbones that could cut someone, perfect lips, and several gold necklaces and bangles adorning both of her wrists.

"Thank you. But I think I'm giving up on him," Reanne said, putting down one of the many weird magazines she reads. She had always liked sweet Remus Lupin since first year, but what girl didn't once have a secret crush on him? It was always impossible to date him though...

"No, don't say that! I'll try harder this year. I'll make sure he's going on at least one date with you." Vickie really hoped that Remus would at least try dating this year.

"Okay, if you say so," she drifted back to her magazine with a roll of her eyes.

"And Tommy! You look jacked!" Vickie punched his bicep, making him drop the novel he was reading.

"That's what working on a farm with no magic does to you," he shrugged, picking up the book and placing a bookmark where he left off. 

"Damn. I still can't imagine you hauling haystacks over your shoulders, slaughtering pigs, or whatever you do out there in the country."

"You should come to the farm next summer. I would absolutely love to see you in wellies, trying to avoid stepping in all the animal dung."

Vickie scrunched her freckled nose, "I would love to go, but you know I'm a city girl through and through."

"I thought so."

They continued their conversations about what they did over the summer, along with a bit of gossip, and upcoming OWLs that were stressing them all out.

Reanne had gone to Paris, which ended up with her parents arguing the whole time and she moved in with her older brother Kingsley for the rest of the summer. Mary broke up with her muggle boyfriend, and she went somewhere in Northern Italy to visit family for most of the summer. And Tommy had stayed home, worked on the farm to support his family. But he would sneak out at night into the village and dance with the local muggle teens, but he wouldn't elaborate anymore when he accidentally brought up this girl named Janet, who was fucking fit as he described her.

However, she couldn't get her mind off the small interaction she had with Regulus Black earlier, and that rare aura. She couldn't even think of another person who had the same exact feeling it gave her — it sort of scared her? But in a good and curious way? She decided to not think about it too much but maybe with the vow she made before coming to Hogwarts this summer to better herself and be better towards others _and_ the combination with his aura — it wouldn't be _that_ bad to have a new friend, even if it was Regulus fucking Black.

They talked and talked through the rest of the train and carriage ride, till they arrived to the Great Hall for the Sorting. The Sorting has always given Vickie nostalgia and remembers her sorting, where she had to debate with the sorting hat for over 20 minutes.

_Ah, it seems like I have come to a dilemma Ms. Carter. I do not know where to place you._

_I don't mean to be rude but isn't this like, your only job? I've been sitting here for at least 25 minutes with you picking my brains out and arguing with you and it's making me exhausted here Mr. Sorting Hat. Can I just—choose where to go?_

_Of course. You have always had a choice._

_Then why didn't you tell me in the first place! This could have gone a lot faster if you told me, Mr. Sorting Hat._

_I am sorry my dear but choose wisely._

_Well, I can go to Slytherin, but I hear the dungeons are really cold. Ravenclaw seems pretty cool, and I guess I can be smart. And I guess Gryffindor is cool too, but sometimes they're just too loud for me. So I guess— I guess I'll choose Hufflepuff because it runs in the family, and my mum told me it's closest to the kitchens. So yeah... Hufflepuff. Easy._

_You would have done well in any of the houses, but a great choice. Thank you for your help, Miss Carter._

_Yeah, no problem._

_HUFFLEPUFF!_

"Vickie! Isn't that one of the first years you were talking about, Darren Holmes, is it?" said Tommy, who poked her shoulder, bringing her back to reality. She saw the little brown-haired boy walk up to the stool with his head held high and seemed so composed up there.

"Oh yeah! He was so sweet! Oh my god, he looks so confident up there! See I told you I gave him great advice." This was one of her first accomplishments as prefect, it was nice to see that a simple conversation can change someone so much.

"Yeah, yeah.." Tommy mumbled but was proud of his best friend.

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Vickie cheered and whooped for him, excited for the sweet kid she had met in the Hogwarts Express be in the same house as herself. She turned back to see Regulus who was sitting next to his friends Constance Greengrass and Evan Rosier at the Slytherin table, clapping for him too. He made eye contact with her and looked away quickly.

Then Mickey Rasher was sorted into Slytherin which made Regulus smile, but he couldn't ignore the dread that he'd been trapped in for months. Even coming back to Hogwarts or the anticipation of his birthday in a couple days couldn't help him escape this feeling.

•••

By the end of the night, Vickie and Tommy had 10 new Hufflepuffs to lead down to the common room. There was lots of excitement, promises to help get to their classes, giving them ways to talk to them, and plans to bond. By the time she got to her dormitory, the two other girls in her year already got ready for bed and were talking amongst themselves. Her year only had 3 Hufflepuff girls in total, and she wished there were more but was grateful for her roommates Chrisleda Archer and Anne McKinnon (more for the ladder).

She dug out her large tote of toiletries, that already had extendable charms on it, and lugged it to the restroom where she started to set them up neatly. Her roommates know that she had the most tedious skincare and body care routine, so they already had taken showers before she got in. After she stepped out of the shower, with no hair on her body, one of her biggest pet peeves about herself, and smelling like jasmine, she slathered on some shea butter, imported straight from Africa. She dressed in her clean silk slip-on nightgown and started on her 10-step skincare routine composed of different cleansers, moisturizers, and her own Bubotuberpus acne cream (which works wonders). Now she laid in her bed, hugging one of her pillows against herself and fell asleep, without realizing that it was almost 2 am and had to wake up in a few hours to start her day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I really don't know where I want to go with this story but I have a lot of ideas. I'm also not the best at writing, this is just a way for me to get all of my ideas out and destress.


	2. Ric Flair

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: suicide

September 4th, 1976: 2 AM

It was Regulus’s 16th birthday today, and may be his last with how close over the edge he was on top of the astronomy tower.

All he could see was terror coming upon him in the future with this bloody “war” or whatever it was. He and Evan  are expected  to get this mark, tattoo thing and join this man with the red and almost snake-like eyes.

He called himself the Dark Lord, this man he’d met once over the summer. Bella and Rodolphus had brought him and Evan to see him. He kept his mouth shut the whole time, only spoke when spoken to. Regulus knew people saw him as young and stupid becuase of how little he spoke. But that made him want to prove himself to them more.

Yet, something held him back.

It was the way he felt when he was in the Dark Lord’s presence.

Regulus felt submissive and weak to this man. It seemed like _everyone_ felt that way around him. Even Bellatrix, who he thought was the scariest person he knew until he met the Dark Lord

It was a blur looking back at it, but the image of Bellatrix dropping to her knees and kissing the Dark Lord’s feet would  be ingrained  into his mind forever .

The Dark Lord was powerful—  maybe  too powerful, like no one could defeat him.  Maybe  not even Dumbledore.

Who was this man? What family did he come from? Was he even _pureblood_? What was his real name?

There were many questions he had that he dared not ask for an answer.

If he joined, he and his family would be safe. Regulus would feel accepted as a Black and bring honor to the name, especially after Sirius left.

But was he passionate enough about the cause to join? Did he  really  believe in purity and the Old Ways like his family? Not  really …

But was he willing to join to protect his family and bring honor—  absolutely .

Well...

Regulus  was confused  and his moral compass was  absolutely  haywire.

He had no idea what to do.

Everyone was watching him, waiting for him to fix the mess Sirius had left him or  maybe  mess it up even more. It wasn’t safe to tell anyone what you were thinking. It was never safe at home, especially now that Sirius left.

At school, it was even worse. He knew he couldn’t trust Evan Rosier anymore, his best mate.  Once they commit to the Dark Lord, he could turn to the Dark Lord, or Archibald Avery and whisper all his secrets and doubts to them .

Would Regulus do the same? Never. He never did have that strong sense of Slytherin and Black, self-preservation in him. He hated to admit it because it reminded him how much alike he was to Sirius.

He couldn't speak of anything about the Dark Lord with Constance, never wanting her to  be involved  in any of this.

But it’s too late now, his head is way too far up everyone’s ass to back out. He was next in line. Although, he can  maybe  figure out a way to back out? He didn’t get the mark yet… but no. This was the way to bring honor and make his mother happy for once, although did she even know how serious this was?

What would Sirius think if he knew what side of the war he was on? Oh Merlin, he would hate him, more than he does currently. Regulus couldn’t bear the thought of it.  Just  the thought of Sirius brought him so much pain, and having to be in the same vicinity of him— he couldn’t handle it.

That’s why he was drinking a whole bottle of firewhiskey at 2 AM, sitting on the edge of the astronomy tower.

Maybe  it would be better to  just  stop, leave everything behind. Now he was in an even worse position with how close he is to committing to the Dark Lord. He  just  felt so _alone_ and helpless, and there was no one he could talk to. He felt trapped and there was no going back now unless he was to lean a little bit over the edge and—

“Shit!”

Regulus whipped his head around, getting a firm grasp onto the edge of the wall. Merlin, he almost lost his balance and he didn’t know what to think of what his previous thoughts were.

His first thought the figure was a second or third year until he saw the small flicker of fire, lighting up the face of… Vickie Carter?

“God dammit,” she mumbled to herself, taking off her cloak. “ _Oops_ — never mind. _Waaaay_ too cold,” she shivered and put her cloak back on over her shoulders.

Regulus squinted at her.  Vickie was fumbling around the dark doorway of the astronomy tower, with a cigarette between her lips, picking something up from the ground and mumbling to herself .

He felt frozen, he couldn’t move from the spot where he was  just  about to— he couldn’t even say it. But he needed to get down— he was dizzy and drunk, and he needed to get away from Vickie Carter of all people. He thought for a moment,  maybe  if he  just  sat still, she wouldn’t notice, and  just  blend into the background.

Oh, how much he missed being in the background of things.

She finally stepped outside into the viewing area and screamed when she saw the dark figure sitting on the edge . Vickie dropped making her fucking lighter again, with a shatter.

“Regulus?” she whispered.

She _knew_ something was up, especially when she saw the empty bottle of fire whiskey on the ground beneath him .

“I’m leaving,” he mumbled, and swung one of his legs over the wall, but Vickie ran up to him and grabbed onto his arm before he lost his balance .

“You  really  shouldn’t be up here when you're drunk,” she said, still holding onto his arms with both hands.

“I’m not drunk,” he grumbled, swinging his other leg over the ledge, his back towards the forest and the grounds. If he  just  fell back a bit—

“Yes you are. C’mon let’s get you off the ledge. I– I don’t want you to fall,” she said  shakily  , trying to pull him down, but he was too heavy for her.  He  just  sat there slouched over, his hair falling down his face, trying to gain his bearings, but his head wouldn’t stop spinning .

“Regulus please,” she whined, gripping his arms  tightly .

Her voice sounded so— desperate and… caring. It was weird to hear it coming from someone he barely knew, or just someone in general. Regulus took a deep breath, trying to push the wave emotions that came from—Vickie? Was that _really_ her? He wasn’t sure, her face was blurry and it didn’t help that he had shit vision in the first place.

“Sorry.  Just  —  just  dizzy.”

“That’s why I need you to get off this ledge.”

“I know,” he sighed, jerking her off. Her grip was getting uncomfortable. He hopped down, and started to sway  dangerously . Vickie held onto him, and dragged him down to the floor.

“Why— why am I sittin’ on the ground?” he grumbled, crossing his legs.

“Have a smoke. It’ll make you feel better,” she said, shoving a cigarette into his mouth.

He pulled it out of his mouth, scrunching up his nose, “What is this? Why is the tip yellow?”

“It's a muggle cigarette. Don’t have any of that expensive wizard tobacco. Let me light you up— It’s fine, it won’t _kill you_.”

“Fine.” Regulus stretched his arm out  lazily  and she lit it up with some muggle contraption. It wasn’t _bad_ but wizard tobacco was definitely better.

Vickie sat across from him, her legs spread out and watched him  curiously  .  She still couldn’t  really  see his face, he was still looking down at the ground his hair falling down his face  perfectly . It kind of reminded her of how Superman’s hair looked like in her father’s huge collection of comics.

It was weird to see him look so vulnerable. His hair was all messed up (but she thought it looked amazing). He wasn’t wearing his uniform, only a t-shirt and sweatpants and his cloak  was crumpled  up behind him. Regulus  was slouched  down, compared to his usually perfect and stiff posture she’d always see him in. It was fucking— _weird_.

His energy was still the same as the first day of school which was, _relieving_ to her. Even if he was in a state she wouldn’t ever think to see him in, he still gave her an odd sense of comfort.

Oh, how she wanted to smother him with a big hug at the moment was overwhelming because she had never seen someone who needed it more  .  And he definitely deserved one of her famous Carter hugs, especially if his whole aura had changed . But, she knew that wasn’t going to happen any time soon, but she hoped to give him as much comfort as she could.

“Can you look up at me?” she asked  softly , scooting closer to him.

Regulus finally lifted his head, resting his cheek on his hand, making his face all squished up. She finally got a good look at him. He stared at her  blankly  , with bloodshot eyes. Oh, god he’s been _crying_ she thought to herself, Regulus Black was crying or  maybe  he was high? No way, that wouldn’t be probable either.

“Oh, love. Are—are you okay?” she said  soothingly , reaching for his face.

He shrugged, making his face even more scrunched up. “‘M fine  I think  .” He didn’t mind when she cupped his cheek, and started to trace his cheekbone with her thumb  gently . It was—foreign but it made him not feel so… alone? 

It was all very confusing for him.

They stared at each other for a while  blankly  , not  really  knowing what to say next. Vickie couldn’t stop thinking of _why_ he was up here all alone, 2 in the morning, and drunk as hell. He  probably  won’t even remember any of this when he wakes up. But her heart was hurting for him . Who was causing him this pain? How could she help him?

She kept her hand on his cheek and it seemed like he didn’t mind it at all. “Why’d you come up here Regulus?”

“I needed to— escape for a bit,” he said, taking a drag off the muggle cigarette.

She quirked an eyebrow, hoping to lighten the mood, “With a whole bottle of fire whiskey?”

The corner of his mouth twitched  slightly , “I guess that wasn’t the best idea.”

“Why’d you sit on the ledge? You could’ve fallen,” she said, dropping her hand to his knee. She didn’t  really  want to even think of what would’ve happened if she didn’t show up or the dark thought of _why_ he was up there. But there was no way, _no way_ that Regulus would ever do that.

“Because I’m stupid—drunk,” he shrugged, trying to forget everything that happened before Vickie saved— showed up .

“Understandable,” she sighed, not wanting to dive deeper anymore.

He plopped his head down on the concrete ground to lay down, but his head wouldn’t stop spinning. “Why are _you_ here?”

“Well, I was going to smoke some... well—never mind... I just needed to calm down. Did you know I’ve been an awful prefect? Don’t know how to be one at all. Stressing, it is,” she chuckled at the sight of Regulus squinting and rubbing his eyes.

“Very stressful,” he nodded  lazily  . His head was still dizzy, felt sick, and it was getting  unbelievably  uncomfortable. And he couldn’t get up!

It was all very frustrating.

“Fuck, it’s hot up here,” he grumbled, grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled it off  sloppily  while still laying down. Oh Merlin, that made him even more dizzy.

Vickie raised her eyebrows and looked at him up and down. He wasn’t the little, scrawny Regulus Black anymore, he actually was getting some muscle. He also had a silver chain around his neck. She never saw him as the jewelry type.

“ _Hello_ , Ric Flair,” she chuckled.

“Who the fuck is Ric Flair?” he asked, finally opening his eyes to see a blurry figure who was— Vickie? Yeah, it was Vickie, he decided. He could see her perfect, white teeth when she smiled at him.

“He’s a wrestler on the  telly . He has big muscles,” she grinned, posing with her arms flexed and kissing each of her biceps.

“That’s silly,” he smirked.

“I know,” she winked at him, “But you should  really  put your shirt back on, also your cloak. You’re going to get sick.”

“You are too, based off what you’re wearing,” he looked at her up and down  haughtily , even in the mess he was in.

She looked down at herself; she was only wearing some  really  short shorts and a thin cropped tank top. But she had her cloak on, with a heating charm.

“I’m  just  fine,” she said  defiantly . “Why don’t I walk you to your dorm? Okay?”

“Shouldn’t I be the one walking _your_ dorm?”

“Not in the state that you’re in,” she stood up, bowed, and held out a hand for him. “I’m going to be the gentleman tonight.”

Regulus scrunched up his nose and stood up  slowly  , trying to not pull her down with him. Vickie helped him put on his shirt and cloak for him because he was  clearly  not capable of doing it on his own.

“There ya go,” she grunted, putting his arm around her shoulders as best she could. “You are lucky I’m strong or else it would be a levitation charm for you.”

It took them, she swore at least an hour, to get down to the dungeons.  Most of the time he dragged his body against the wall down the corridors because he was afraid to crush her under his weight, while she pulled him into the right direction  . They finally made it to the dungeon corridor, with a close call to  being caught by  Mrs. Norris. God, she  was exhausted  and definitely underestimated her strength.

“I’m going to get you into bed. What’s the password love,” she whispered and patted his head.

“I can— I can go by myself,” he said, unclinging himself from her, but still put his hands on her shoulders to gain his balance.

“Do you remember how much trouble it was to get you down the stairs? I had to  practically  scoot you down? You can  barely  walk.  Just  tell me the password.”

He dropped his head into her neck, feeling the blood rush to his head and her hair smelled good too. She smirked to herself, never thinking that Regulus Back would be anywhere close to her like this. “Pure,” he mumbled into her neck.

“Ugh, of course it is. _Pure_ ,” she said to the door and it opened with a click.  She’d been in the dungeons once before and it looked the same except it was empty this time— not a bunch of drunk students partying  .  She started towards the hallway where all the boys dorms were and hoped to god no one heard them stumbling against the walls . “Okay which one is your dorm?”

“Right here,” he slammed into the door with all his weight with a loud _thud_.

“Regulus!” she scowled at him. “Move, so I can open the door.”

He grumbled and moved so she could get to the knob. Vickie opened the door and dragged Regulus into the pitch black room. She found the bed where the curtains were open and stacks of books were _everywhere_ around his bed. It was so fucking weird that she was tucking a drunk _Regulus Little Dipper Black_ into bed. Never in a million years would she think this would ever happen.

Regulus plopped down on the bed and Vickie helped him take off his cloak. Then kneeled down in front of him and started to take off his shoes for him. But she looked up at him  curiously  while he  sloppily  took off his shirt.  She thought he looked like a little toddler, his eyes were half shut, mouth formed into a pout, and his hair was sticking up all over the place .

“Reg?” a deep voice said  groggily  from behind her, “Mate?”

… _Fuck_ …

She heard the curtains  fly  open  loudly  from behind her and she froze, and the position she was in wasn’t helping. “PRINCESS?”

“Bloody hell! Can ya shut the fuck up!” another voice shouted from across the dormitory. It must have been Scabior because Barty, who was on the other side of Regulus was much softer spoken.

And there went Barty Crouch, peeking his head out of the curtains. “Regulus?” then she could see his face turn pink, even under the low lighting from her wand between her teeth. “Vickie?”

“Barty! I swear to fucking Merlin— If you say anything about her being up here I’ll hex your bloody bollocks off!” Evan hopped off his bed with a thud and brandished his wand at him. Barty rolled his eyes and closed the curtains around him going back to bed, used to Evan’s dramatic threats.

“What’s going on?” Regulus grumbled, squinting into the dark.

“Nothing, nothing,” she whispered, brushing his hair out of his face. “Why don’t we get you tucked in, okay?”

Regulus nodded and fell back onto his pillow, knocking out immediately. She ignored Rosier, glaring at both of them while she put the covers over Regulus. After brushing his hair off his forehead again, she turned to face Evan Rosier. He was only wearing some boxers and his usually gelled back hair was in a spiky mess.

“What the fuck are ya wearing?” Evan looked at her up and down, eyeing her thin cropped shirt and booty shorts.

“Why’d you care?” she growled, and wrapped herself in her cloak.

“I’m  just  saying, if you’re shagging my best mate  I think  you would be wearing something _nicer_.”

Vickie punched Rosier on the arm hard, “This is my fucking lounging outfit! And I was  just  helping him get down here!”

Evan furrowed his brows, and looked over her shoulder to see Regulus knocked out. “What happened,” he demanded.

“Can ya take this out of the fucking room?” Scabior shouted again.

“Fine!” Evan shouted  childishly  back at him, grabbing Vickie by the arm pulling her out of the dorm. She  repeatedly  hit him on the arm while he dragged her into the end of the hallway, but he wouldn’t let go.

He finally let go when she aimed a stinging hex at his wrist. “What the fuck was that for?”

“What do you think? I’m going to be proper bruised by tomorrow,” she grumbled, rubbing her wrist and glaring at him.

“Where was he?” Rosier said  seriously , his eyes boring into hers.

“He was fucking pissed off his arse, sittin’ on the ledge of the astronomy tower.”

“The fuck was he up there for?”

“I don’t know! I  just  found him there.  It was—” she took a deep breath, remembering how he  just  sat there on the ledge with no realization of how dangerous it was  . Why was he up there?  Why, Regulus Black, the shy, intelligent, quiet little brother of Sirius Black doing up there alone, drunk, sitting on top of the astronomy tower? “It was awfully scary,” she bit her thumb.

Evan searched her face with his hands on his hips then exhaled coming to terms that she was telling the truth. “He was  just  fine earlier tonight,” he said more to himself than to her.

“Well, he wasn’t in a good mood before I showed up. That I can tell. So I recommend that you take care of him today. Brew him a hangover potion,” she said  defiantly . She turned to leave the dungeons, but he twisted her around by the shoulder.

“You don’t tell me what to do,” he began, shoving a finger into her shoulder, but she grabbed his finger and twisted it back, almost breaking it .

“ _Owowowoow_ _!_ ”

Vickie was never a violent person, but with Rosier, she could never control her anger. “You don’t tell _me_ what to do.”

“Fine!  Just  let go!” he scowled at her.

She finally let go of his finger and glared at him. “Now, I’m going to leave and let’s hope that he forgets all this tomorrow.  Just — take care of him.”

“Oh, I’ll make sure he’ll forget,” he grumbled to himself, shaking his head.

Vickie pointed her wand at his chest, “You wouldn’t,” she growled.

“To save him from embarrassment— yes I would.  If he ever found out about you bringing him down here, he would drown himself in— _ugh_ I don’t even want to think about what he would do .”

“I’m 99 percent sure that he will forget about last night. And and I doubt he even knew it was me tonight, he’s so wasted. If he does have the slightest inclination it was me, I’ll pretend nothing ever happened.”

“How do I know you won’t tell him or the whole school?”

“I don’t have anything against him! It’s  just  out of the goodness of my heart you Slytherin bastard!”

“I’m still going to make sure he forgets. Okay? Bye.” He turned on his heel with a tight lipped smile, but Vickie gripped onto his arm and thought  quickly .

“I’m going to get Constance if I’m thinking what you’re going to do,” she growled.

His face was stoic, but he paled. She grinned  inwardly , knowing she hit a spot. “You wouldn’t,” he gasped.

“Yes I would,” she said with a threatening tone. She was about to go up to Regulus’s room herself, and guard his bed.

Evan knew he would be _killed_ — or at the least crucioed— _literally_ if Constance ever found out. So, he ceded, “Fine I won’t. Let’s just hope he forgets what happened last night. Just pretend nothing happened, okay? And if you tell _anyone_ what happened, I will destroy you.”

“Okay. I won’t tell anyone, I promise. I don’t want him to  be embarrassed by  it either. But if I suspect you did anything to him, I will destroy you too,” she paused hearing a creak of a door to the right of her. And it had to be the familiar mop of brown curly hair, much like her own, peeking out of it.

“I fucking knew it was you Vik!” Dox hissed,  fully  coming out of the door and into the hallway, tripping on his feet. “No one ever makes that much noise down here— except you Rosier.”  Vickie grinned to herself, only seeing her brother be the little shit he could be when he doesn’t get his beauty sleep . Otherwise he’s the shyest person in the world. But boy, when he doesn't get his sleep, it’s a good ol’ time, in a chaotic sense.

“How did you— how did you hear us? I put a silencing charm around us,” Evan gaped at the 4th year who looked so much like his sister. But he’s always liked the lad, even though he never got along with his sister. Dox kind of reminded him of Regulus a bit even.

“Burke and I put wards up so silencing charms don’t work,” Dox said  quickly  , squinting at him trying to figure out what the fuck his sister was doing with Rosier of all people  .  Someone she wrote about in her first letter home during her first year, complaining about how this Rosier guy with his friend Regulus Black (who she mentioned had very nice eyes, but that didn’t matter) had “  accidentally  ” aimed their leviosa spell to _her_ feather, pushing it down, while she tried to lift it .

“Ahhh, so you can hear when people come in and out in order for you to know when to sneak out! And you're the first dorm, closest to the entrance, so you can hear people… oh my god you have it easy!” Vickie smiled  proudly , clapping her brother on the shoulder. “God, you're smart.”

“ _Yeaah_ . I did,” he replied  slowly  , still squinting at Rosier, not liking the conclusion he was forming in his head.  He crossed his arms over his chest and twisted his squint into a glare, with a scowl much like his sister and mother… and grandmother . “What are you doing down here with my sister?” he asked, cocking his head to the side.

The way Dox, this _fourth year_ , had said it so  calmly  was also kind of terrifying? Not like the terrifying, falling off a broom hundreds of feet up in the air kind of terrifying.  But the Constance kind of terrifying, with that intense loyalty and protectiveness behind his words  . Rosier  quickly  brushed it off, because it was a fourth year and he didn’t do anything at all to her! It was her in the first place who came down and ruined _his_ night by bringing back Regulus  safely  to his bed.

“I’m leaving now.  Really  sorry for waking you up.  Goodnight Dox,” Vickie said  quickly  , going on her tippy toes to give him a kiss on the cheek, but he dodged it and turned to glare at her .

“And why are you down here with _Rosier_?” he furrowed his brows at her, his voice filled with disappointment?

“I was— we were— we were doing a project for charms! Lost track of time, that’s all,” she stammered, pleading with her brother, who she knew didn’t believe a word she said. “But I’m leaving, I can’t deal with him anymore.”

Evan knew the lie was shit, and there was no salvaging this in anyway, so for once, he actually kept his mouth shut.

“Okay, I don't even know why you guys would  be paired  together in the first place. And um— why then is Rosier in his knickers?” Dox cocked his head to the side, lifting a brow.

Vickie glanced over to Evan, who kept a stoic face, then back to her brother. “ _Errr_ —”

“Vickie, you’ve had a questionable taste in guys but this is— crazy. You could have at least gone with Black, that would be a 100 times better,” he muttered to his sister. Oh yeah, that was another thing when he had no sleep (or coffee) in his system— he was blunt and judgmental.

“Hey!” Evan scoffed at the insult, but was it an actual insult? The girls had always fawned over Regulus over his soft looks— and demeanor…

“Dox! I promise nothing happened, you know how much I dislike him. And trust me I would take Regulus over Evan any day. Promise. I promise on Nan’s grave.”

Dox nodded his head, coming to terms she was telling the truth. He was too tired to argue further anyway.

“Fine. Goodnight you wanker,” then he turned to Rosier. “And I better not see you near my sister again.”

Vickie smiled at her brother, “Goodnight,” and started towards the common room to leave, but turned around . “Remember what I said Rosier.”


End file.
